My Lord, My Leader
by Patwas-Potter
Summary: Important Author Note - Please Read. An Azkaban!Harry fic with a few twists on the usual plot line. New powers, action galore and a revamp of the Wizarding World is on the way.
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note: Hello again! I never thought I'd actually be starting on a third fic. But I realised that it helps me to think and broaden my ideas if I think of different plots at the same time. I got the inspiration to write this fic after reading several Azkaban!Harry faces and realising that they all shared several ideas that were the same. This fic is an attempt to put a different twist on those ideas, and I'll leave it to you to spot them. Cookies to those who do - just let me know! Okay, you know the drill, do review, it feels good to know your writing is being read and appreciated.

Chapter 1.

Looking back, he could say with complete certainty that the whole thing was a scam, flawed from the very beginning. It was a complete shambles, something which even someone with the most meagre intelligence would recognise was wrong. No, it was too much to hope that somewhere, a brain would kick into gear. It was pushing the bounds of expectation to hope that the whole system wasn't collapsing inwards into itself. "Yes", he thought, "It was time for change, and change there would be."

It was cold. It was dark. But at the same time it was oddly comforting. He knew that he would be safe, or at least that nothing would hurt him here. It would be nice to have a decent meal and sleep in a warm bed, but all in all things could have been worse.

His ears twitched as he heard a noise towards the end of the corridor, a noise which he identified as the sound of footsteps moving towards him. His senses probed the darkness, and he knew, almost on an instinctual level that the light was coming, that things would soon be over.

He stood with an air of grace that belied the ragged state he was in as the footsteps, no; several sets of footsteps stopped in front of his door and, as it opened made a beckoning gesture that could be interpreted as a sign of welcome. Light spilled through the opening and he noted with amusement the surprise on the faces of those standing there. He immediately recognised all the people standing there - well of course he would, it had only been six months since he had seen them last. His heart leaped with joy as he saw his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger smiling at him. His face broke into an ear-splitting grin as Hermione leapt forward and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him so hard the air was nearly knocked out of him.

"Harry! It's wonderful to see you again. How are you? I hope things weren't too bad. Don't worry, everything's been sorted out and we'll be out of here in no time." she gushed.

"Hermione. Air." he gasped.

"Oh!" she said, blushing crimson and loosening her hold on him slightly, but still keeping in contact.

"Hiya mate." said Ron, slapping him heartily on the back. "Long time no see."

"Yeah, I guess." Harry replied. It was good to see that Ron and Hermione hadn't changed a bit. He stepped out of Hermione's embraced and looked around at the others who had remained silent up until now. Albs Dumbledore, Chief Warlock and head of the Wizengamot, Leader of the Order of the Phoenix, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and considered by many to be the most powerful wizard alive and by Harry as a grandfather figure and mentor. Tonks, an Auror working for the Department of Law Enforcement and also a member of the Order. Her joyful nature and slight clumsiness made her likeable to nearly everyone. Finally there was Kingsley Shacklebolt, another Auror and working in the same role as Tonks. The tall, dark wizard with his deep, slow voice gave off an air of trust and confidentiality. There was one thing that all these people had in common: they were all with him, all routing for him, no matter how close-mouthed they were about it.

"Hello everyone, Professor, Tonks, Kingsley." he said, looking around at them all and meeting the eyes of each. "It really is good to see you again. Thanks for coming to get me. I knew you would."

"Watcher Harry!" said Tonks, her hair changing through all the colours of the rainbow in her excitement.

"I am glad to see that you are in good spirits, Harry." said Professor Dumbledore, the ever-famous twinkle present in his vibrant blue eyes. "A lot has happened in the last six months and I will need to speak with you soon to discuss it all. But first, I think we should make our way from here."

"Very good point, Professor. I fully agree. I have spent far too much time here already." Harry turned to Ron and Hermione. "If you two can grab hold of my hands we'll be going."

A surprised looked flitted across their two faces but they did as asked. "See you soon!" said Harry, smiling beatifically at the remaining two wizards and one witch. A white light seemed to engulf Harry and the two students holding on to him, warmth flooded through them and a moment later they were gone, leaving three gob smacked people in their wake.

Harry Potter was free from Azkaban.


	2. Chapter 2

Author Notes:

Just noticed that somehow the text showed up fine in Notepad, but transferring it to Word messed up the word wrap which I just checked and do have enabled in Notepad. If anyone knows how to fix this I'd be grateful. It will be fixed for the final version of the chapter. Please bear with it for now and if anyone can help, let me know.

I'm sorry. There's nothing much more that I can say

but if you take a look at my livejournal (see my profile for the

address) it might explain a little of why this update is so long in

coming. Be assured that I am not giving up on any of my stories, in

fact the ideas going round my head are driving me crazy. Anyway,

enough of that, on with the story.

My Lord, My Leader

Chapter 2.

A white light seemed to engulf Harry and the two students holding on to

him, warmth flooded through them and a moment later they were gone,

leaving three gob smacked people in their wake.

Harry Potter was free from Azkaban.

--------------------------------

It was a few moments before anyone could speak.

"Professor, did you see... did he just...?", stuttered out Tonks.

"Yes Nymphadora, I do believe Mr. Potter just apparated out of

Azkaban.", replied Dumbledore calmly.

Tonks scowled at the use of her first name, and wondered if there was

anything that could phase the old man at all.

"Right.", boomed Kingsley. "So setting aside the fact that this is

supposed to be a prison, and that therefore escape by such simple means

of apparition is supposed to be impossible, where do you suppose Harry

has gone?"

"I think,", said Dumbledore, "that he has most likely gone to the

Ministry, and if I am not very much mistaken I believe we should get

there to see the show." So saying he took out a mug and the others

touched a finger to it. With a jerk around their navals they too

disappeared from the prison island in a swirl of colour.

Harry, Ron and Hermione landed quietly behind a rubbish bin in a small

access alley between two shops in the main Wizarding shopping district

called Diagon Alley. Ron and Hermione, no doubt ffrom the shock of

being apparated across the sea and then across the length of the

country stumbled, but were quickly caught by Harry before they hit the

ground.

"Thanks.", they both said whilst dusting off their robes.

"No problem.", replied Harry. "Now I know you have many questions, not

the least of which is about how I got you here,", he continued, seeing

Hermione had opened her mouth and was about to start on a tirade of

questions. She quickly shut it. "...but we really must be going as

there is a lot we have to do today."

He looked around the bin, and once sure that no-one was looking in

their direction, pulled the others behind as he made his way a few

metres down the street and stopped outside a medium sized shop. It was

a rather colourful shop, with flashing ligbhts lining the window frames

and adverts for products such as Skiving Snackboxes and Wizfire

Wizbangs covering the glass. There was a sign with the word 'CLOSED'

in bright blue letters on it stuck to the inside of the door and a

vivid orange day-glow plackard bearing the title 'Weasley's Wizard

Wheezes' hanging over it.

Pushing open the door, he led them inside, their arrival announced by a

loud, melodious trumpet blast. He looked around the shop, the inside

of which was practically blinding when compared to it's neighbours.

There wasn't a dark or gloomy colour anywhere, and every nook and

cranny was filled with shelves lined with products or stacks of crates

and boxes. At had been at least nine months since Harry had last seen

the shop and he was pleased to see that business appeared to have been

good. He had given the Weasley twins, owners of the shop, his winnings

from the Triwizard Tournament in his fourth year, and now that they

were no longer studying at Hogwarts they had used what was left of the

money after buying the premises to extend their line of jokes and gags.

There was a yell as Fred bounded out from a room in the back of the

store, followed promptly by his brother.

"Harry!", cried Fred, running up to him and pumping his hand. "How

absolutely corking to see you."

"It's been too long mate.", included George, nudging Fred out of the

way and taking his turn with Harry's now slightly sore hand.

"Hi guys.", said Harry, a smile breaking out on his face. He couldn't

help but feel his mood lighten when the twins were around. No matter

what the situation, you could count on them to liven it up.

"And he apparated us here!" said Hermione, joining the conversation for

the first time, her face a mask of incredulity.

"Oh hello there Ronnykins, Hermione.", said George, only just noticing

Harry's two companions.

Ron's face flushed upon hearing the nickname, but he didn't have long

to think up a suitable retort as Hermione continued, now in full

encyclopedia mode.

"I mean he apparated us. He APPARATED us! I mean that isn't possible,

that just isn't possible. It says in 'A Complete History and Analogy

of Wizarding Law" that the prison of Azkaban was built with multiple

wards to improve security on top of the dementors, which included

anti-portkey and anti-apparation wards. It was rumoured that the

prison was inescapable, that is until Sirius-"

She stopped, her eyes widening as she turned to Harry, but to her

surprise he looked fine, although she could see the spark of

determination in his eyes. He gave her a small smile and a nod,

signalling her to continue.

"...until Sirius escaped.", Harry finished the sentence for her. "I

know, Hermione, but we really do have a lot to do today and I must

explain what has happened before we go. I ask you all to hold your

questions until I have finished.

Receiving nods from everyone, he waved his hand after which four chairs

zoomed across the room to where his friends were standing. Gesturing

that they should each sit down, he started pacing and began his

explanation.

"As you all know, our esteemed minister Fudge...", here, a contemptuous

scowl crossed his face, "...had the decency to have me arrested

shortly after my return to the Dursleys for, what did he call it, ah

yes, being a danger to society. At the time, Dumbledore and the Order

were trying to get everything, including the Ministry, into some sense

of order, and were unable to do anything even though they tried. Then,

shortly afterwards, Fudge was fired and Arthur Weasley took his place.

For reasons that are still unknown to me, he did not or could not do

anything to help. Fortunately, the grip on the Wizengamot was relaxed

with the change of Minister, and Dumbledore was eventually able to call

it together. They voted nearly unanimously to have me freed. All

this happened over the space of nearly nine months, whilst little old

me was safely locked inside..." He gave a bitter laugh.

The others looked at him with surprise on their faces. Harry wondered

whether they had expected him to be angry and start yelling, which, he

had to admit, he probably would have been this time last year. Yes, he

was angry, but he had learned that venting at innocent bystanders, and

his friends at that, would serve no purpose. There would be a time and

place for that, and boy would it be big.

--------------------------------

Author's Notes: This is of course not the entire Chapter 2, I just

don't feel right leaving it off here, but I'm going to post this anyway

just so you have something to read and come back to it in a couple of

days. I now have running University computing assignments that will

run from now till mid December, but I promise to make time for writing.

I will thank everyone who has reviewed at the proper end of the

chapter,but considered youselves thanked most graciously at this time.

Regards, Hussein.


	3. Notice

Hello.

This is an advisory note being posted on all my stories. All stories are being revamped from the ground up. It has been nearly three years since I started writing, and I've naturally changed both as a person and in my style of writing over that period. Also, I've changed my mind on many of the plot lines I wanted to work on, and the release of the last two HP books have a lot to do with that.

This is to advise all my readers that I am in no way giving up on my writing. In fact, now that the HP series is officially over, I think this gives me an even greater opportunity to write some truly awesome fanfiction without more official sequels being published and taking some of the value of what I have to write.

I will leave this note here until the first of the new chapters is ready for release. I was originally intending to simply delete all my stories but then realised that, although I've been a less than stellar author, there are some out there that truly appreciate what I've done thus far, and I wanted to leave this work here as a reminder of what's gone before and the reviews I've received that have really inspired me to keep at it.

I am now starting the second session of a one-year Masters that ends in June 2009. Then, depending on my achieved grades, I'll move onto a dissertation culminating in my finishing class in September and graduating in November. There are busy times ahead, which along with other social commitments will place strong demands on my time. I'm also working on my own non-fanfiction novel. What this all means is that I have a lot of ideas swirling around in my head, a lot of things I want to do and less time than I'd like to do them in. So please, just bear with me - I'll get there in the end. I'm always up for a chat about my writing or anything in general, and if you therefore want to contact me individually to give me a gentle nudge there, or just to catch up, I'd love to hear from you.

Finally, thank you. Thank you for sticking with me. There are so many stories on both this site and others, many, which are significantly more developed and time-worthy, then mine. Sometimes, it's quite a blow to morale to realise you're just one of thousands of authors out there vying for readers' attention. In addition, with so many different plot lines having been investigated and written about, it's hard to not repeat something that's gone before, and to make your own work really original and praise-worthy. This is something I'm desperately trying to aim for, and where your support and encouragement has meant a lot to me.

Thanks again, and see you soon.

Best,

Hussein.


	4. Important Author Note

EDIT: I have placed a poll on my profile page for those that wish to vote anonymously. If you haven't done so already, please read the note below for a full explanation of what I'm talking about. Thanks for your time.

**Important Author Note – Where do we go from here?**

Hello All.

Cliché I know, but firstly please accept my sincere apologies for the unacceptably long delay in updating this and all my other stories. Apologies especially to those that were kind enough to spare a moment to review, or add me to their favourite/watch lists. Trust me when I say that this means a lot to me, and that I've relished your reviews, criticisms and advice.

If you've got this far, please read to the end. I'm going to explain what's going on, and then give you, my readers, and a choice.

I'm still just as committed to Harry Potter and these stories, as I was when I started writing years ago. In fact, as time has passed, I've had even more ideas about where I want the plots to go, and I really do believe I can make something worthwhile out of them. I have several scenes from different stories that I've worked on now and again, which I would hope to fit into the final versions.

Having said that, real life has kept me from writing, and for once, the excuse isn't a lack of time but health issues. I suffer from ever worsening Reynaud's in my fingers. In short, it's a constriction of the blood vessels in the fingers that cause them to go ice cold, and then leave me in agony for hours as they warm up again. Anything less than it being positively sweltering causes an attack to surface, so you can imagine the weather we've had of late has not been conducive to my feeling all that great. Sometimes I'll catch a break for a few hours, at other times I'll be practically living in bed for weeks (as was the case most recently in November 2009). To anyone unfortunate enough to suffer from this, you know what I mean. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy, and what's really soul destroying is that it stops me from doing just the things I enjoy the most. Also, as I'm partially sighted, the computer, and thus my fingers are my lifeline. Therefore, you can hopefully understand why I try to prioritise on the most important activities during what pain-free time I do get.

I'm not just writing for the sake of it, but because I genuinely enjoy it, and thus I want to take the time to make the best of it that I can. If that involves writing half a dozen drafts of a chapter, so be it. So, whereas I could dash off a University essay in a few hours and be happy with it, chapters for my stories do take significantly longer to take form.

Because of this, and because I know how frustrating it is to see stories which seem as though they may be a good read later on just seem to fizzle out and die with no update for months on end, I thought it was only fair for me to give you the chance to choose where I go from here. I see the following possibilities:

1. I can stop all my stories here and give them up for adoption. I'd hope whoever took them on would be just as passionate about them as I am, and I'd still be honoured to have some input in tossing ideas around, but they would have the final word and set the schedule, etc. I'd be happy to hand over my notes and unwritten scenes to the adopter. Whereas being credited as the original creator would be nice, I won't insist on it, as I don't believe I have the right.

2. I can stop all my stories here and remove them from the site. I don't suppose there's much point in having something online that isn't going anywhere. Whether I start up again in the future with either a totally new story, a story that merges parts of those I've already worked on, or not at all, would have to be seen.

3. I can continue to work on the stories at my own pace, but I would be unable to promise any timescales for updates. There's just no way of saying what the health will do from one day to the next. Also, whereas I've now finished with university as of October 2009, I'm still in the process of pressing a formal complaint due to grievances with the way the course ended. Also, I'm now coming under pressure to find a job, which could be anytime, or not for a long while. I suppose it helps that I won't get my official results until February and papers until July.

There's not much more to add, but as I said before I feel that as I'm not just writing for myself, I owe it to my readers to let them decide the fate of what's published here. I'll leave this open for a fortnight or so, maybe a little longer, before I decide myself. Please let me know your thoughts in a review or by mail or private message if you prefer.

Thanks, and sorry once again.

P.S: I had Alphabeat 'Spell' and Abba 'The Winner Takes It All' playing in the background whilst I dashed this off. Both are great songs, if a little melancholy, but they seem to fit the mood.

EDIT: As of 14 January 2010 I have 5 votes for option 3 above. I mention this only as the votes may have been deleted whilst this note was updated.


End file.
